Mind and Intuition

The gradations given by Sri Aurobindo are 1) the Mind 2) the Higher Mind of Silence that belongs to the munis, 3) the Illumined Mind of the light of the Rishi and, 4) the Intuitive Mind of direct knowledge of the yogi.

Mind understands by seeking the opposite, confronting it till it sees that the truth of the opposite is its own truth. Truth is in two halves. Mind has one part. So, it seeks the other part. It is in its very opposite. Mind's conflict with that gradually reveals the other part of the truth it needs. A man seeks wealth. The knowledge he has is insufficient. The other half of the knowledge lies in bankruptcy. So he does everything to become bankrupt. Now he has the knowledge of wealth and the knowledge of bankruptcy - a total knowledge.

As the running thoughts are a disturbance to thinking, so does thinking interfere with understanding. Understanding is facilitated by Silence. It is known by ‘Silent contemplation'. We often get the answer when we forget the problem or sleep over it.

The medium for understanding in the human mind is thinking while in the Higher Mind it is silence.

Knowledge comes to us as light. We call it enlightenment. Knowledge is the source of light as light is the source of understanding ideas.

Light reveals the knowledge as visions. The Illumined Mind does this.

Thinking, Silence and Light are the media at different levels to the understanding of the Mind.

The mind is capable of directly understanding without any of these media.

Direct understanding is called Intuition.

The yogi understands by Intuition.

As the Mind rises, it sheds its lower instruments and takes on higher instruments.